Time passed by in a flash, and three days flew by in the blink of an eye.
With Han Li's current cultivation base at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, it naturally didn't require as much time for him to refine this ruler as it did for the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
Within the short span of three days, he successfully cultivated the treasure's Artifact Imprint Technique before fusing it into his own body.
During this time, the puppets down below had also almost finished mining the unknown ore in the mountain, and he would complete his mission after about another day.
Qu'er had also collected many spirit medicines from the island during this time, some of which were extremely rare in the Spirit Realm, this was quite a pleasant surprise.
After exploring for a day or two without encountering any hazards, Qu'er had become a lot braver and had begun collecting some of the extremely obscure spirit medicines growing on the nearby lakebed.
Han Li had been at a critical juncture in his cultivation of the Artifact Imprint Technique at the time, so he had only extended some words of caution toward her via voice transmission before letting her go.
However, he had naturally left a wisp of his spiritual sense on her in case any mishaps were to occur.
As it turned out, his cautionary measures were warranted, and around half a day after he had finished cultivating the Artifact Imprint Technique, he suddenly sensed something while he was meditating, and a cold expression appeared on his face.
All of a sudden, he flew out of the restriction as a streak of azure light before hurtling toward a certain direction, vanishing into the distance after just a few flashes.
Meanwhile, there were three streaks of light flying through the air in an extremely panicked manner several hundred kilometers away from the island.
One of them was a ball of white light that contained a small figure; it was none other than Qu'er.
Several kilometers behind them were four strange triangular battle carriages that were giving chase in hot pursuit.
Each carriage was only several tens of feet in size, and their surfaces were riddled with patches of green rust. The spiritual light emanating from them was also quite dim, and they even seemed to be somewhat damaged. However, they were extraordinarily fast and could cover a distance of several hundred feet with each and every flash.
Qu'er was quite adept in movement techniques, but she was slowly being chased down.
As for the other two people with her, they were even faster and could just barely maintain the distance between themselves and the flying carriages.
"Kukuku, Fellow Daoist Yue, you've already expended far too much energy during the last battle; how far do you think you'll be able to go even if you burn your latent potential like this? If you know what's good for you, then you'll hand over the Nineflame Herb you have, and I can grant you a painless death." A coarse and unpleasant male voice rang out from within one of the flying carriages, and the voice was tinged with a hint of impatience.
"Hmph, I'd sooner destroy this spirit herb than hand it over to you!" A cold female voice sounded in response from a streak of blue light that was flying up ahead.
"Don't waste your time talking to them, Fairy Yue. They immediately stabbed us in the back after we secured that treasure; we can't place our trust in them." The enraged voice of an elderly man rang out from within a streak of grey light.
"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Xu; it would be downright pitiful if I were to trust them again after what they did," the woman replied.
Almost at the exact same moment, she transmitted her voice to the elderly man. "Fellow Daoist Xu, are you sure this is the right way? We won't be able to last much longer like this."
"It should be correct. The treasure tells me that there should be a Heavenly Cloud being nearby in this direction. That little girl behind us has a rather strange aura; she's most likely a spirit beast that was brought here by that Heavenly Cloud being. They've planted tracking marks on us, so we have no choice but to make this final gamble," the elderly man replied something else in a loud voice while transmitting his voice to the woman as his actual response.
The woman heaved a faint sigh upon hearing this and fell silent as she flew on ahead as quickly as she could.
Chapter 1737: The Rong Race
The foreign being that had just spoken was naturally enraged by the woman's defiance, and he didn't waste any further time with words as he let loose a sharp cry.
A buzzing sound immediately rang out from the four battle carriages before they all converged toward the same carriage, combining as one to form a battle carriage that was several times the size of the original individual carriages.
This carriage was over 100 feet in length and was rhomboid in shape. There was a beast head that resembled a wyrm, but also a python, on the front of the carriage, and as soon as this giant battle carriage appeared, rainbow light flashed in the surrounding area, following which two pairs of thin and long dragonfly-like wings appeared.
The woman and elderly man were both quite alarmed to see this.
"Hurry!" The elderly man was relatively kind of heart and abruptly cautioned Qu'er before hurrying forward. The streak of light that he was situated in combined with that of the woman, and their collective speed more than doubled.
Almost at the exact same moment, the battle carriage flapped its four wings, and red light flashed through the eyes of the beastly head, following which it abruptly vanished on the spot.
With the reminder extended toward her by the elderly man, Qu'er had naturally sensed what was happening behind her, and she was greatly alarmed as white light flashed from her body in an attempt to unleash an acceleration secret technique at the expense of her true essence.
However, it was already too late.
Spatial fluctuations appeared in the air above, following which a burst of azure light abruptly flashed. A burst of unpleasant cackling rang out, and a giant hand that was several tens of feet in size emerged from the azure light before reaching down toward Qu'er.
Qu'er wasn't their target, but seeing as they had chased her down, there was certainly no reasons for them let her go.
Qu'er's expression changed drastically as she gritted her teeth before making a hand seal, upon which hundreds of thin blades swept toward the giant hand in a flash.
"Hmm?"
A slight cry of surprise rang out from within the battle carriage, but the giant hand showed no sign of stopping. Instead, it released a burst of green light from its palm to sweep aside most of the flying blades amid a rumbling boom, while the giant hand continued to descend.
"Argh!"
Qu'er's face had turned deathly pale as she looked on at the gigantic hand. She knew that her powers were nowhere near enough to ward off this astonishing attack.
In this dire situation, a cold harrumph suddenly rang out from nearby. The harrumph wasn't very loud, but for some reason, it was quite clearly audible to everyone.
Immediately thereafter, silver light flashed, and a massive silver seal that was around an acre in size appeared in mid-air.
The sound of howling wind and rumbling thunder rang out before the giant seal crashed down toward the huge hand.
A resounding boom rang out, and the giant hand was quite massive in itself, but there was no way it could withstand an attack from the huge seal, which was comparable in size to a small mountain.
Thus, the giant hand was instantly reduced to nothingness amid a thunderous explosion.
"Who's there? Who dares to oppose our Rong Race?"
An enraged roar rang out from within the azure light, and the spiritual light faded to reveal the rhomboid battle carriage with its pairs of transparent wings flapping incessantly.
There were four humanoid figures that were enshrouded entirely in green light standing atop the carriage, and at first glance, they resembled humans, but upon closer inspection, it was quite clear that they were completely different from normal humans.
Not onl
y were their entire bodies covered in coarse green fur, they had sinister jackal-like heads that were quite harrowing to behold.
"Seeing as you dared to attack my servant, I'll let you have a taste of my new treasure!" A cold male voice rang out, following which a young man with a pair of translucent wings appeared out of thin air.
He raised a hand, and spiritual light flashed as a shimmering silver ruler appeared. This was naturally none other than Han Li, who had virtually instantly arrived on the scene through the power of his Thunderstorm Wings.
The silver seal from earlier was formed by the Heavenly Astral Seal, and with his recent drastic power boost, the treasure was far more powerful than before, thereby allowing it to easily destroy that giant hand.
Han Li had now fully recovered his magic power and had just refined the Chaotic Origin Ruler, so he naturally wasn't fearful in the slightest toward these four foreign beings. Furthermore, the fact that they had attempted to kill Qu'er had ignited the killing intent in his heart, and he immediately flicked his wrist as the Chaotic Origin Ruler let loose a low ringing sound. Countless ruler projection then appeared before surging forward in a frenzy.
"Thank you for saving me, Master!"
"Hmm? Fellow Daoist Han!"
Two different voices sounded in unison, the first of which was Qu'er's elated cry of gratitude, while the other was an expression of surprise from the elderly man that was fleeing up ahead.
Han Li's expression changed slightly as he cast his gaze toward the distance, where both the woman an the elderly man had already stopped and revealed themselves.
The elderly man was a little familiar, while the woman was instantly recognizable to him. She was none other than the Fairy Yue who had led the other team into the Vast Glacial Realm back in Cloud City.
A hint of surprise also appeared in the woman's eyes at the sight of Han Li while the elderly man heaved a long sigh of relief.
In his eyes, even though Han Li's inclusion still wouldn't make them a match for these Rong beings, it significantly increased their chances of survival. Furthermore, he clearly recalled that Han Li was the leader of the other group, so perhaps there were more Heavenly Cloud beings nearby who could lend them some assistance.
Han Li was also rather taken aback, but he merely nodded at the two of them before the ruler projections in front of him hurtled directly toward the four foreign beings.
Boundless silver light surged through the air, creating an extremely astonishing sight to behold.
The four Rong beings on the flying carriage were initially startled by this turn of events before two of them immediately sprang into action.
One of them flipped a hand over to produce a black flag, which he waved through the air to send countless black chains hurtling toward the oncoming ruler projections.
Meanwhile, the other Rong being opened his mouth to expel a green copper mirror that instantly swelled to several feet in size.
Green light flashed from the surface of the mirror, and boundless green flames erupted forth, sweeping through the air in a frenzy.
The other two Rong beings merely appraised Han Li in a cold manner, displaying no intention of attacking. They were clearly of the opinion that their two companions would be more than enough to take down Han Li.
Han Li's lips twitched slightly upon seeing this, and brilliant azure light erupted from his ruler-wielding hand as pure spiritual power gushed into the Chaotic Origin Ruler in a frenzy.
The slightly blurry ruler projections in the air immediately became a lot more substantial amid violent flashes of spiritual light, transforming into silver rulers that were around half a foot in length each with silver arcs of lightning flashing over their surfaces.
A loud rumbling boom rang out, and countless silver rulers rushed into the black chains and green flames before immediately gaining the upper hand.
"Hmm? So it seems he's not just some pushover." One of the two foreign beings who hadn't attacked furrowed his brows upon seeing this before sweeping a sleeve toward Han Li, sending a crimson bead flying toward him amid a flash of red light.
The treasure flashed before expending to around the size of a human head. Red runes were surging all over its surface, and fiery clouds began to appear out of thin air.
Han Li looked on from afar as these scenes unfolded before he narrowed his eyes and suddenly reached out with an inky black hand.
A small black mountain that was around 10 feet tall immediately appeared above the huge bead before plummeting downward, and the foreign being who had just summoned the bead was given quite a fright.
This bead was not a treasure to be used in direct clashes with other treasures. The Rong being hurriedly made a hand seal, and the huge red bead swayed before conjuring up a dozen or so identical projections that shot forth in all directions.
Blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and he immediately pointed a finger at the small black mountain, upon which it suddenly vanished amid a flash of grey light.
In the next instant, grey light flashed in the air above one of the beads, and the small black mountain reappeared before crashing down like lightning.
A resounding boom rang out as grey and red light intertwined momentarily before the bead was shattered into a fiery cloud.
"How dare you break my treasure!"
The foreign who had summoned the treasure immediately flew into a thunderous rage as he pointed a finger at Han Li, sending a dozen or so streaks of crimson light hurtling directly toward him.
In the face of this oncoming attack, Han Li merely chuckled coldly before adjusting his Artifact Imprint Technique, and the countless silver rulers that were dominating the black chains and green flames suddenly converged toward a single spot.
A giant ruler that was several tens of feet abruptly appeared, and it was shimmering with silver light.
At this moment, the dozen or so streaks of crimson light had already reached Han Li, and in response, he merely raised his inky-black hand and swept it forward.
A grey light barrier immediately surfaced, and the dozen or so streaks of crimson light were instantly swept up by the light barrier, thereby preventing them from advancing any further and revealing them to be a dozen or so crimson flying daggers.
Almost at the exact same moment, Han Li tightened his fingers around the Chaotic Origin Ruler before swiping it through the air before him.
The giant silver ruler in the distance immediately let loose a long cry that was akin to a dragon's roar, then came crashing down toward the flying carriage with devastating might.
The other two Rong beings on the carriage naturally weren't going to allow this treasure to fall as it pleased. As such, both of them immediately sprang into action.
The black chains surged through the air before forming a huge black net below the massive ruler, and the mirror that was blasting forth green flames also turned toward the ruler before expelling a huge pillar of green light.
A muffled thump rang out, and the giant ruler was able to easily crash through the green pillar of light like a hot knife through butter.
The two Rong beings who were controlling the treasures were naturally quite taken aback by this, and right at this moment, the final Rong being who had remained silent this entire time suddenly exclaimed, "Look out!"
He then waved a hand upward, sending a streak of grey sword Qi slashing through the air.
Meanwhile, a silver shadow flashed in that direction, and a slightly blurry giant ruler appeared out of thin air.
A peculiar scene then unfolded.
The grey sword Qi had clearly struck the silver rulers, but the former simply passed through the latter as if it were nothing more than an illusion.
The giant silver ruler then appeared above the flag-wielding Rong being in a flash before crashing down with devastating force.
Chapter 1738: Revolving Golden Light
The flag-wielding Rong being was quite alarmed by this development, and he immediately laid a hand onto the top of
his own head, upon which his coarse green fur erupted through the air as a vast expanse of green light.
However, the silver ruler somehow passed through the green light, but attained a substantial form once it struck the Rong being on the head.
The protective spiritual light around the Rong being posed no impediment to the silver ruler, and his head was smashed open like a watermelon as blood sprayed in all directions.
His headless body then tumbled down from the flying carriage, and a green shadow instantly shot forth from within it.
This was the Rong being's Nascent Soul, and it rushed toward the mirror-wielding Rong being with a horrified look on its face. "Save me, Brother Liao!"
However, as soon as the words escaped the Nascent Soul's mouth, a ruler projection instantly plummeted from above and obliterated it out of existence.
The giant silver ruler then immediately conjured up three identical ruler projections that swept toward the remaining three Rong beings.
The deafening sounds of fierce wings and rumbling thunderclaps rang out, as the ruler projections appeared, and the remaining three Rong beings hurriedly adopted defensive measures in a fit of shock and fury.
A grey veil and a black shield emerged, only for the ruler projections that struck them to immediately disintegrate into specks of silver light.
Those were truly nothing more than illusionary projections.
Both of those Rong beings immediately realized that they'd fallen into a trap, but it was already too late!
The mirror-wielding Rong being had also released a wheel treasure to defend himself against the final ruler projection, but that projection suddenly vanished right in front of the wheel, only to reappear around a foot away from that Rong being before striking his hideous face.
Lightning flashed, and countless arcs of silver lightning erupted from the ruler projection, instantly reducing the Rong being to dust without even sparing his Nascent Soul.
The remaining two Rong beings' expressions had darkened significantly. The silver ruler circled around before conjuring up another dozen or so ruler projections that swept toward them, and one of them suddenly yelled, "Run! This man is far too powerful for us!"
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 998